Telstra wi-fi ultimate 4g

oldbloke · Guru

Telstra wi-fi ultimate 4g

Possum3 · Guru

Telstra Blue-tick phones have superior service while travelling in rural/remote areas www.telstra.com.au/aboutus/media/media-releases/Telstra-announces-first-4G-Blue-Tick-certified-handsets Is your phone a Blue-tick model?

oldbloke · Guru

Yes, mobile is blue tick. Just thinking this could be a cost effective solution.

dabbler · Guru

If you can use an external antenna with your modem, you will improve reception I've had two Telstra 4G modems. The first was an Ultimate 4G by Netgear and it certainly could have an external antenna fitted. You need to use both antenna sockets simultaneously. Places like Jaycar should be able to assist you They are hardwired, preconfigured and locked to the Telstra network and can't be unlocked. An Aldi sim would work in the older one and presumably will work in newer ones but that was about 4 yra ago now. However Aldi service is inferior to Telstra. Only Telstra and Boost use the full Telstra network. No idea if a Boost sim will work in a locked Telstra device.

valiant81 · Guru

Hi all ; I got rid of Telstra 4 months ago and have now moved over to Pennytel $29.95 for 20 Gb of data per month and the wife's phone plane of $10.00 per month with 1 Gb of data and unlimited phone calls and sms. I now use my phone as a hotspot for accessing the internet on my computer or the phone, have the best of both worlds. I still have foxtel ( no movies though ! ) and my phone bill has gone down from $275.00 per month to $114 per month. I even get a e-mail from pennytel when i have payed the latest monthly account!!.
This for me has worked flawlessly and so far have had no problems.

oldbloke · Guru

Ill repeat the question.

Am i able to u se an Aldi or perhaps Boost data card in this unit. The idea is that it should improve data speeds compared with hot spotting my mobile

Mike Harding · Guru

Depends; if it's locked to Telstra (which it probably is) then *probably* neither the Boost nor Aldi SIM will work. Sorry to be vague but there is no way of telling other than to try it - I would not advise asking Telstra it's most unlikely you'll find anyone who knows... even if they say they do.

outlaw40 · Guru

Oldbloke , Telstra unit would almost definitely be locked to telstra and even though aldi and boost use telstra equipment they will not work if the unit is telstra locked however if your device is more then 2 years old telsta will ( I Think Must ) unlock it for free . the down side is you have to talk to telstra .

markf · Senior Member

oldbloke wrote:
I have one of these. Probably never used. This should improve my connectability in van and home. (We only use mobiles for internet) because of where we live often speeds are slow.

Would i be able to use an aldi data card in this? Or even a mobile card with data? This is not about who provides the best service. Just looking to improve reception.

If it's one of these https://exchange.telstra.com.au/telstra-pre-paid-4g-my-pocket-wi-fi-ultimate/ then the answer is no. I just tried mine with an Aldi SIM and it was a miserable failure.

Whenarewethere · Guru

2 years ago in the region of Shark Bay WA, I was trying to get a signal standing on tables etc. I'm using Boost.

A person came up to me an asked who I was with, he was with Telstra & had a perfect signal.

Our conclusion was that Telstra reduces the signal if you are not actually using a Telstra sim card.

oldbloke · Guru

markf wrote:
oldbloke wrote:
I have one of these. Probably never used. This should improve my connectability in van and home. (We only use mobiles for internet) because of where we live often speeds are slow.

Would i be able to use an aldi data card in this? Or even a mobile card with data? This is not about who provides the best service. Just looking to improve reception.
If it's one of these https://exchange.telstra.com.au/telstra-pre-paid-4g-my-pocket-wi-fi-ultimate/ then the answer is no. I just tried mine with an Aldi SIM and it was a miserable failure.

Yes, one of them. Been chatging and will not turn on. So looks like going in the bin. Bugger.

oldbloke · Guru

Whenarewethere wrote:
2 years ago in the region of Shark Bay WA, I was trying to get a signal standing on tables etc. I'm using Boost.
A person came up to me an asked who I was with, he was with Telstra & had a perfect signal.
Our conclusion was that Telstra reduces the signal if you are not actually using a Telstra sim card.

Yep ,Im with Boost, lesley is with Aldi. My conslusion is telstra users get priority. But u might be right. We have towers just 2 or 3 km away and signal is poor. Internet slow. Particularly on my mobile. But we are down in a dip. Also walk out side signal jumps from 1 to 3 or 4 bars.

Neil

Rob Driver · Guru

Hi old bloke,

Is you equipment owned by you or is it on a Telstra plan.

If it is on a plan then you are stuck with it.
You wont be able to fit another sim.

If it is owned by you then you may be able to fit another sim in it. What Telstra do is lock the equipment to themselves and hope that you will keep using Telstra service.
We had one on Telstra but we had completed all contracts and we actually owned the equipment.
I went on line and tried to unlock it through Telstra and they played the too hard card and kept telling me I was doing something wrong.

After about three days of frustration I decided to go into our local Telstra shop where I actually got the dongle in the first place.
I spoke to a girl there who got their tech to take my dongle and unlock it.

Since doing this I have fitted an OVO (Optus) sim and it works fine.
You may ask why I didnt fit a Boost sim and Boost specifically say that their sims are not to be used for data only but must be used in a phone.
You may find that ALDI may be the same.

If you are prepared to take no for an answer from the mighty T then you will be throwing your equipment in the bin.

On a side note I was talking with a person we met on the road just recently and they had a similar experience but threatened T over the phone with a consumer complaint and apparently T provided a tech on the phone to help them unlock it.
Ironically they then claimed that they put a Boost sim into the dongle with claims of how would they actually know if the sim was not in a phone if the phone was only used as a hot spot.

Anyway food for thought and good luck dealing with the big T which could also stand for Terrible service.

Let us know how you go

Regards

Angie

Mike Harding · Guru

Whenarewethere wrote:
2 years ago in the region of Shark Bay WA, I was trying to get a signal standing on tables etc. I'm using Boost.
A person came up to me an asked who I was with, he was with Telstra & had a perfect signal.
Our conclusion was that Telstra reduces the signal if you are not actually using a Telstra sim card.

Or it could be that his phone was able to receive a band your phone was not.

Rob Driver · Guru

Mike Harding wrote:
Whenarewethere wrote:
2 years ago in the region of Shark Bay WA, I was trying to get a signal standing on tables etc. I'm using Boost.
A person came up to me an asked who I was with, he was with Telstra & had a perfect signal.
Our conclusion was that Telstra reduces the signal if you are not actually using a Telstra sim card.
Or it could be that his phone was able to receive a band your phone was not.

Exactly Mike......but others blame the cheaper telco.

If the doubters care to go back and search my posts they will find that we ran T and Boost side by side in our transport company with the same equipment for the same result. Absolutely no difference anywhere that T service was able to be received.

Unfortunately this topic is not about that but still, someone must feel the need raise some story about the difference in the two.

Back On Topic, I hope old bloke aka Neil, can use his dongle that for which, he paid out good money.

Regards

Angie

Whenarewethere · Guru

We both could get 4g+

oldbloke · Guru

The unit was my late fathers. Looks un used. 3 or 4 yrs old.
I have charged it for a few hours and i cant turn it on!

Have discovered Boost dont have data only but Aldi do.

I understand these do better where there is a weak signal on the mobile? Is that right?

Neil

Whenarewethere · Guru

oldbloke wrote:
Have discovered Boost dont have data only but Aldi do.

I'm on the Boost 6 months prepay with 60GB $100. Other half is on Boost 12 months prepay 80GB $150.

oldbloke · Guru

Whenarewethere wrote:
oldbloke wrote:
Have discovered Boost dont have data only but Aldi do.
I'm on the Boost 6 months prepay with 60GB $100. Other half is on Boost 12 months prepay 80GB $150.

Yeh, but that is a mobile plan. Not data only.

Whenarewethere · Guru

Both are the same. Unlimited local calls to land lines & mobiles & SMS. International unlimited calls to about a dozen countries & sms (Aldi had a slightly different mix of counties when I last looked) this is very useful for other half! Other international calls there is X number of minutes but these countries we do not need to phone. We can use both mobiles as hotspot for each other's phone or our computers if one is running low on data.

I quite often use my old phone as a second screen for the internet, handy at times.

We did have 3 land lines in the past, none now. We use either mobile for internet on the computer. We don't watch movies so we don't need a lot of data.

Also very happy with speed, at least in good areas! The best 119 down 27 up, but typically about 80 down 20 up.

oldbloke · Guru

Whenarewethere wrote:
oldbloke wrote:
Have discovered Boost dont have data only but Aldi do.
I'm on the Boost 6 months prepay with 60GB $100. Other half is on Boost 12 months prepay 80GB $150.

As i mentioned at the stsrt Im on the boost $300 240gig plan over 12 months. Issue is internet is slow where we live. We also hotspot our mobiles. No other internet and only 1 bar of signal. Just want to speed it up and thought this unit might help.

Can i use my boost card in it?

oldbloke · Guru

My typical speeds ar.
Down 2.5 Mbps
Up 1.0 Mbps

Whenarewethere · Guru

Inside our unit can be very slow but not always & not at particular times.

I can get 80 down 20 up on the computer via hotspot if sit the phone on a stool outside the front door. Sometimes it is brilliant inside.

You really need to find the best spots & take notes, moving a metre can improve the signal a lot. Depends on the surroundings. Solid walls, reflections, metal roofs can play havoc. Aluminium coated ceiling insulation didn't help our signal either. Aluminium louvres, aluminium reflective blinds don't help, we have a few of these. I have a bit of a go at my neighbour who gets about 5 down with NBN! So I'm getting at least 10 x his speed. We are a km from the exchange.

If you have plenty of data left at the end of the period run speed tests in the areas you think are good. It's about 40mb per test. So you could run about 25 tests with a GB of data.

Rob Driver · Guru

oldbloke wrote:
The unit was my late fathers. Looks un used. 3 or 4 yrs old.
I have charged it for a few hours and i cant turn it on!

Have discovered Boost dont have data only but Aldi do.

I understand these do better where there is a weak signal on the mobile? Is that right?

Neil

It should turn on by holding the button down on the top for a few seconds. If it doesnt power up after charging then the unit is probably no good.

If the unit was with Telstra when your father had it then unless he had it unlocked you will find that it will only work with a Telstra sim.

As I said in my above post, if you own it then you are entitled to have it unlocked.

Here is my speed sitting in the caravan in a North Qld regional town.

Whenarewethere · Guru

Outside our front door midday. Inside realistically was a 1/10 of this figure. If put the phone outside & hotspot to the computer or the other phone I get good speed.

oldbloke · Guru

OK. Unit will not turn on. Soooo in the bin.

Best I can get out side it about 6Mbps down and 3 up. Inside 2.5 / 1 Up against a window much the same.

Place in open window and back to 6 / 3. This looks like best option. What a pain. Tower is only 2 or 3 km away.

Rob Driver · Guru

oldbloke wrote:
OK. Unit will not turn on. Soooo in the bin.

Best I can get out side it about 6Mbps down and 3 up. Inside 2.5 / 1 Up against a window much the same.

Place in open window and back to 6 / 3. This looks like best option. What a pain. Tower is only 2 or 3 km away.

I watch Netflix on the Boost service on my mobile which I plug with a patch cord (I think that is what it is called) to a cable which goes into the TV

About three weeks ago it was so slow I could not watch anything as the speed was under 1mb so I phoned Boost to complain and the fellow got me to reset the Boost with instructions over the phone and up it came and has worked fine ever since.

I should mention that I use an IPhone 7S as your equipment will make a lot of difference to reception.

I would give Boost a call and have a talk to them.

Regards

Angie

Whenarewethere · Guru

Using Moto G7 plus, Moto G6 (wifey) & G5 plus (dropped in Orange & broke screen & bought G7 plus, otherwise it's ok). All phones seem to perform about the same.

My Mini Mac is 2009, have set wi-fi to 5.0ghz, the best speed via hotspot was 86 down & 26 up. Typically over 50 down & 15 up.

Rob Driver · Guru

While we seemed to have moved to the subject of equipment in this topic I have a link that I accessed from the Boost website which may be of interest to anyone with older equipment and to anyone who maybe considering updating in the near future.

There are drop down info links on the page which will provide more important information.

crowdsupport.telstra.com.au/t5/News-Feed/Goodbye-3G/ba-p/837149

Apology to Neil for going OT but this info may be an important consideration.

Regards

Angie

Mike Harding · Guru

I'm just fascinated as to why you think you need an 87Mb download speed and, Goodness me, what you are downloading with it!? :)